Labour Cooncils

My jaw dropped last week - and not for the first time - when I read this story by Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald.

How low can you go? - was my immediate reaction.

Because these big Labour-run councils behave as if they're a law unto themselves - they dream up reward schemes - which look like old-fashioned bonus payments to the rest of the population.

Then the Labour run council has the brass neck to say that it's proud of their bonus schemes - even though the truth of what was going on was dragged out of North Lanarkshire Council - only after a hard fought Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Who do these peope think they are kidding?

Not me, that's for sure - and it's just the same in Glasgow where the Labour council paid hundreds of thousands of pounds in 'top-up' payments to councillors - sitting on arm's length bodies or ALEOs.

ALEOs such as Cordia to which thousands of Glasgow's home care and education staff were transferred - only to find their pay and conditions under attack.

The same cynical behaviour is to be found in Labour run South Lanarkshire Council - which has abused the FOI process and spent huge sums of public money - trying to keep people from understanding the big differences in pay between traditional male and female council jobs.

I loved the quote towards the end of Paul Hutcheon's piece - in which some anonymous union person comments adversely on North Lanarkshire Council's bonus scheme - reserved for only the most senior council officials, of course.

Have you ever heard such a weak, pathetic comment in your life - how about calling a spade a spade - how about standing up for ordinary union members and saying the whole, all too cosy business is a complete disgrace?

But then again these are the same unions that are out campaigning for Labour - in the local council elections which will be held on 3 May - the same unions that turned a blind eye over equal pay for so many years.  

So don't expect the trade unions to lead any charges against these big Labour councils - because they are hopelessly compromised by their 'far too close' political connections - to be able to see the wood through the trees. 

Council chief receives payout despite failings

North Lanarkshire Council's chief executive was awarded a £12,050 bonus-style payment, months before his department failed to hit a key target on leadership.

Gavin Whitefield's office fell short on four vital management areas last year, but the CEO still pocketed over 90% of his performance "top-up".

Central Scotland SNP MSP John Wilson criticised the cash boost at a time when other council employees faced pay freezes and redundancy.

The Labour council, one of the country's largest authorities, was criticised recently for trying to block the release of details of performance-related payments (PRP) to senior officials. Following an appeal by this newspaper to the Scottish Information Commissioner, the council confirmed doling out nearly £200,000 to around 30 officials.

The payments, for 2009-10, included £12,050 for Whitefield on top of his £136,848 salary. He was awarded a further £12,050 in the following year.

An email obtained by the Sunday Herald reveals the chief executive was given the sum, despite his own department's shortcomings.

In 2008, every part of the council was awarded Investors In People (IIP) accreditation, which is linked to business improvement. Subsequent reviews have confirmed that the departments merit their IIP status.

However, an email from Whitefield this month shows his office, which has around 50 staff, was judged to have failed in key areas during last year's IIP assessment. He said the CEO's department had not met the requirements in "effective leadership", "team development", "meeting learning and development needs" and "fair and equal access to support and opportunity to learn".

Although the office kept its IIP status, Whitefield said measures such as planning sessions and workshops were needed to address the shortcomings.

A further IIP assessment is due later this month.

While senior officials have continued to receive PRP, council workers have had their pay frozen.

Wilson said: "The failure of the chief executive's office in the area of effective leadership once again casts doubt on the decision to award PRP."

A spokesman for public-sector union Unison said: "We don't believe PRP is a good or effective use of public money."

A council spokesman said a large number of areas of excellent practice were identified in the last assessment, while some areas required improvement. "We have focused on those areas as part of an action plan," he said.